Cost to repair clutch shudder?

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Has anyone had this fixed out of warranty?  What did it run?
Thank you.

Turn the flywheel, replace the disk and Pressure Plate, replace the fluid, replace the t/o and Pilot bearing plus labor.

You need to at the very least, replace the clutch disc and resurface the flywheel. I decided to upgrade when i did mine ( just about 2 months ago ).. I got a Fidanza lightweight flywheel and Exedy OEM clutch disc kit from gripforce clutches on ebay for about $460 shipped for the complete kit, and then labor to install it was another $375. This completely eliminated my clutch shudder, not even a slight trace of it left.

Years ago I had this problem on one of my Mercedes.   I used extra throttle and slipped it more on take off for a month or so and wore the problem area off the disc.


Originally Posted by t walgamuth
Years ago I had this problem on one of my Mercedes.   I used extra throttle and slipped it more on take off for a month or so and wore the problem area off the disc.

Yeah, same thing with me.  I bought my 02 last August.  I drove it without a problem for about two weeks.  I found this site and learned about the clutch shudder problem.  Next thing you know it my clutch started shuddering every morning (sometimes, ignorance is bliss).  When I took it to the dealer to get all the oils changed, I asked the service manager about this.  He said that sometimes a glaze forms on the clutch plate from overheating (eg starting on a hill and using/slipping clutch instead of the brake to hold yourself from rolling back or really hard starts).  He said my Miata has such low miles (at the time only about 30k miles) that it would be premature to replace the clutch (at my cost, approximately CAD$1,500) and that the glaze may disappear from normal usage.  So I just used a bit more revs and slipped it more to get past the shudder.  After about two weeks, the clutch shudder disappeared and it has not been a problem since.  I can now make very smooth low rev starts without any shudder.  I guess I got lucky.  What year and how many miles on your car.  Even if this does not fix your clutch shudder, it is one way to get around it.  So why not extend your usage/life of the existing clutch and save the cost.

I am looking at a '02 (18,000 miles) that has a VIN in the range of the TSB referring to clutch shudder.....is that enough reason to stay away from the car?
Can the shudder happen at any mileage or is there a threshold mileage that when reached there is no chance of shudder anymore?
Thanks again.

Our 2003 LS has some clutch shudder when it is first driven but only if the car has been left, at a minimum, overnight, to totally cool.  
After two or three upshift/downshift sequences, basically some stop and go's getting onto the major roads from home, early warmth gets into the various pieces and the shudder goes completely away until after the next long cool down.  I'll live with it.


Originally Posted by Joel B.
I am looking at a '02 (18,000 miles) that has a VIN in the range of the TSB referring to clutch shudder.....is that enough reason to stay away from the car?
Can the shudder happen at any mileage or is there a threshold mileage that when reached there is no chance of shudder anymore?
Thanks again.

I have an '02 with 51K (bought used with 18K). The car has the classic clutch shutter symptoms as described by the other posts. I thought of replacing the clutch but decided to just get used to the car and learn to live with it. I had gone 10 years without a manual at this point.
I got to where it would shudder maybe once a week or so and I thought that I had it all figured out. I changed the clutch fluid and things got even better. Now I change the clutch and brake fluid yearly and very rarely get any shudder.
And it has always happens only from a stop in 1st gear. I'm not paying for a new clutch for nothing.
Steve

I believe a clutch replacement by an authorized Mazda dealer is close to a $1000 repair.

So are there any NBs that don't have the quot;clutch shudderquot;?

I haven't seen it reported in an '04 or '05.  I've seen a very small posts about '03s.  Seems like most of us lucky ones were '01 and '02.
I've had pretty good success with just cleaning up the clutch when it gets bad enough by launching once in third.  Then I'm back to using Midnite's suggestions about keeping the revs up at launch (about 2K) and other tips.
It's a pain sometimes but my '01 has 39K and is not my DD.  Given that, I'd rather just launch higher and clean once in a while than spend the time (or money if I decide to outsource it) to replace the clutch.  As a matter of fact, I just cleaned up the clutch for the first time this year last week.


Originally Posted by Hamster
I haven't seen it reported in an '04 or '05.  I've seen a very small posts about '03s.  Seems like most of us lucky ones were '01 and '02.

Well, my '04 has it.

My 01' LS has the shudder and I just raise the revs on launch . Works every time. I'm not replacing a clutch on a 17k car.  zzman

The previous owner of my early 03 LS hadn't bothered to get the shudder fixed under warranty.  My Dealer did my clutch and all the OEM fixin's for about $1500.  I though that it was a little high, but I'm pleased with the result.

I have an '03 built in March of that year (out of the TSB VIN range) and it occasionally shutters on the first few launches. One hint I learned here (starting in 3rd gear) painful as it is, seems to clear it up for a while. I've got only 15,000 miles and sure don't want to replace the clutch.


Originally Posted by lcachola
Well, my '04 has it.

Learn something new here every day.  Thanks lachola for the correction.